Are you looking to keep the Bandit look, if not you could do the Rustler conversion. You're pretty limited on your options if you keep it all Bandit. Look into the Rustler "Wide Mod", it'll improve stability, and allow you to run the same wheel offset front/rear. Same wheel offset will allow you to rotate your tires. What are your plans for it, speed runs or bashing? On or off road?

Yes, its cheaper to buy extra plastic ones. As long as you get the gears meshed right, and set your slipper right the plastic will last a long time. When I first started in RC it took me a little while to get my mesh right and I ate a couple gears, now the last time I replaced a spur gear was when my Jato's engine mount came loose. My Nitro Rustler has about 3 really hard gallons on it and the plastic gear is doing great.

Go the RPM route, for the arms. If it was me though, I'd do the Rustler conversion while you're at it. The wider arms will improve your stability, if you want to keep the buggy body all you have to do is leave the front body mount off. Look at T-Bone Racing, they have front and rear bumpers, a skid plate, and wheelie bars.

ya, i wanna do the rustler conversion and ill go all rpm on it. nope, hate the body, pece of shit. i already have the rpm front bumper and the traxxas wheelie bar. i wanna get the integy lcg chassis and then get the tbone chassis skid plate that runs the whole bottom. any info on the integy chassis is greatly apprecieated

If nobody comes back from the future to stop you, how bad of a decision can it be?
-Traxxas Rustler VXL
-Axial SCX10 Jeep Wrangler

No info on it man, there are only a few Integy products that I've heard good things about. Most Integy reviews have been bad, my buddy put their skid plate on his Maxx and it folded back on his first jump.